Our Real Estate Market: The Home Stretch for 2014
Many people know that spring is a great time to sell a home (in theory-actually there is less available for buyers in the early months of the year so for a lot of sellers earlier in the year can be better...but I digress). What many don't know is that the fall market can be very, very, busy. We usually see deteriorating sales volume over the summer months as people spend time enjoying themselves at the beach or out of town. Those who wanted to buy before the new school year have usually done so by June in order to move in before school starts. This tends to make July and August very slow months. However, once the kids are back in school and summer holidays over for everyone, the buyers are back and the open houses busy. September, October and November are generally great months to sell a home and often December is also busy (we have even received offers for homes on Christmas Eve-I wasn't happy about it, but it happened).
Because of the high sales volume in the fall, I think it is often risky to "wait until spring" just in case the market changes due to interest rate increases or other factors. In addition, there can be a lot more homes listed in the spring than in the fall and of course the real estate market, like most things, is based on supply and demand: when supply is high, the results for sellers are not optimal.
If you have been considering selling your home, now is likely a great time. if you would like some advice on how timing affects your results, please contact me by email or phone or stop by our Cove office at 2221 Panorama Drive, North Vancouver.